22 Life-Saving Beauty Hacks to Use When You're Already Late

MAKEUP

1. Fix smudged makeup in a flash by using concealer to hide your mistake. Don't have a makeup wipe handy? If you color outside of your lip line and the shade stains your skin, use concealer to cover up your mistake. Try Vert Concealer Stick.

2. Store your makeup sponge in a plastic egg to keep it from getting dirty in your cosmetics case or purse. If you have to run out the door and do your makeup when you get to work, toss your makeup sponge in a plastic egg and go. The bottom of your bag is no place for your Beauty Blender.

3. Use your ID as a shield for your mascara. You've been there: You're in a rush (or you just applied the most beautiful smoky eye) and you get mascara all over your eyelid. HOW ANNOYING. Holding a credit card or your school ID against your upper lash line helps minimizes the amount of mascara remnants you get on your eye. Try Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.

4. Run the bottom part of a makeup brush over a darker contour powder and the top part of the same makeup brush over a highlighter, and then apply it in one fell swoop. You can also just pick up a dual-toned product, like L'Oréal Paris Infallible Pro Contour Palette, that has a Pac Man-shaped brush that fits to the curves of your cheekbone, contouring and highlighting it perfectly in one move.

5. If you don't have a two-toned powder that lets you contour in one step, use two different colored foundations to contour. Take the foundation shade that you'd typically wear in the winter (that's a touch lighter than your skin) and the formula that you'd normally wear in the summer (that's a little darker than your complexion), and then use the darker one to contour and the lighter to highlight. Unlike summer and winter clothing, you always have all of the foundation shades you use in your bathroom, so they'll be easy and quick to apply. You can even choose one or the other (contouring or highlighting), so you still get out of the house on time and looking sculpted.

7. Create a full face of makeup fast by using only three products. Choose a base that you love and apply it all over, then blend. Try Milk Sunshine Skin Tint, which has a rollerball tip for a quick application. Then, spot-treat blemishes with a dot of foundation and let it dry a little; that way, the consistency becomes thicker and acts more like concealer. As your foundation sets on any trouble spots, apply mascara to your lashes and wiggle it against your lash line if you want to apply it as liner (see above tip no. 6). I used Rodial XXL Glamolash Mascara here. Finally, pat to blend the foundation you applied over any blemishes and apply a bold lip color, like E.L.F. Cosmetics Matte Lip Color in "Wine." A statement lip will always make you look like you spent more time on your makeup than you did.

8. Designate a clean toothbrush to declump your mascara. In a hurry, you might not be able to apply your mascara with precision. If your lashes end up looking clumpy, take a clean toothbrush and swipe it over your lashes to comb them smooth. Danielle used NYC New York Color Big Bold Full Impact Mascara here.

9. Create a perfectly shaped brow in 60 seconds. Start by underlining your brow and tracing the top to your desired shape. Heeseung used Maybelline New York Brow Precise Micro Pencil. Then, blend the line out until it's almost invisible with the spoolie on the opposite end of the brush. Finally, swipe on a tinted brow mascara, like Benefit Gimme Brow Volumizing Brow Gel, to help groom your arches and fill in and conceal any sparse spots.

10. Use a makeup wipe to create a quick smoky cat-eye. The most effective way to create a smoky cat-eye is to apply your favorite shadow using a fluffy brush, extending it a bit beyond the outer corner of your eye. Then, take a makeup wipe and gently swipe away the shadow at the outer corner at an angle to reveal a precise winged smoky eye that looks like you spent a ton of time on it.

11. Use a tissue or a makeup shield to protect your base makeup. If you already have your foundation on, hold a tissue against your face (or use a makeup shield, like the ones from Shadow Shields) to protect your base from becoming a complete mess from eye shadow fallout. If you do get any fallout on your face, pick it up with translucent tape, since it's the least strong tape and won't pull at your skin.

NAILS

12. Dip your nails in ice water to harden freshly painted polish. If you have to run out the door but need your nails painted, wait a minute or two for your lacquer to dry, and then dip your fingertips in a bowl of ice water to harden your polish the rest of the way.

HAIR

13. Apply dry shampoo at night to allow it to set. When you wake up, you'll have perfectly tousled tresses, thanks to the tossing and turning you did while you were sleeping. Try Verb Dry Shampoo.

14. Minimize the possibility of a bad hair day and lock out the humidity from your shower by using two shower caps. One might cut it if your hair doesn't frizz up fast, but if your strands are super-sensitive to humidity, then you might want to double up.

15. While you're doing your makeup, use a microfiber towel over a cotton one to absorb excess water in your hair. Think of microfiber turbans as the ShamWow of hair towels. Microfiber absorbs way more than cotton (Yes to less heat damage!) and its soft texture helps cut down on friction, which leads to frizz. So, the next time you're running late, twist your hair up into a microfiber turban, do your makeup, air-dry or blow-dry your hair, and go! Try Aquis Micro Fiber Hair Turban.

16. Freshen up your hair by spritzing your hairbrush with perfume. If your hair isn't to the point where you need dry shampoo, but you'd like it to smell nice when you flip your ponytail, spray your favorite fragrance onto a brush and then run it through your hair. Whatever you do, don't spray your scent directly on your strands, since the alcohol in the formula can dry them out. Caitlin sprayed Juicy Couture I Love Juicy Couture Eau de Parfum onto a Neon Wet Brush.

17. Get no-hassle beachy waves by spritzing your hair with salt spray, wrapping it up into a bun, and then unraveling it when you get to work. Instead of hating on your commute, use it to your advantage and let some salt spray, like Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion, and heat from your head work together to create cool-girl beachy waves.

18. If you run out of anti-frizz cream, use hand or body lotion in its place. Typical anti-frizz products contain hydrating ingredients, like glycerin, panthenol, and silicone to keep your strands looking smooth, which most lotions contain. Try KMS Curl Up Perfecting Lotion (you can use this even if you don't have curly hair, BTW!), which has glycerin, or Promise Organice Coconut Milk Hand Cream, which contains glycerin, coconut milk, and shea butter.

20. Use a silk scarf to blend your unruly leave out with the rest of your extensions. Since silk retains moisture (cotton absorbs it) and your head gives off heat, you'll want to wrap a silk scarf around your head, flattening your leave out as you secure it. That way, as you do your makeup, the heat from your head will be trapped under the silk and coax your hair to lay flat.

21. Tame a cowlick quickly with a wet washcloth and some heat from your hair dryer. The only way to retrain your cowlick is with water and heat. Smooth your stubborn hairs down, lay a wet washcloth over them, and let the water retrain your cowlick for three to five minutes, depending on the severity of your cowlick. Then, lock in the smoothed strands by using tension from a round brush, while directing heat from your hair dryer from your roots to your ends.

22. If you wake up with bangs that are out of control and can't be tamed, work them into a style, like a headband braid or a boho twist, like I created here. That way, you won't have to worry about being late because you were dealing with showering, or at least wetting your bangs, and then having to blow them out aka spend 20 minutes on hair that's three inches long.

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